Choices
by Sultry Sweet
Summary: Sequel to 'Accidents'. Before they can attempt a happily ever after, Emma loses control of her magic again, but she also loses her beard. And so does Regina. Set during 4x08 with 'Accidents' being the canon 4x07.


It was still dark outside when Emma woke up. Her teeth clattered together as goosebumps covered her naked body and visible puffs of air left her mouth every time she exhaled. She sat up, wrapped her arms around herself and curled up before she looked down to see Regina's face scrunched up while the brunette huddled up as best as she could in the passenger's seat with her, just as devoid of clothes as Emma herself.

Emma's hands started to spark with her unchecked magic, apparently not yet as tamed as she'd thought it was since Regina had joined her in the car. She gritted her teeth and squirmed around a little, but quickly calmed herself down to keep from waking Regina.

The blonde looked around the Bug for her clothes and quickly slipped into her panties and long sleeve shirt before she quietly slipped out of the car and went to the trunk. She winced at the twigs she stepped on with her bare feet along the way, but retrieved a thick, plaid blanket she kept close by for nights like this. She closed the trunk as quietly as she'd removed herself from the car then went to the still open passenger's side door. She draped the blanket over Regina and went to shut the door when a fresh wave of cold air hit her exposed legs and stiffened her nipples beneath her black shirt.

"She can't help you," a voice said from the other side of the car and startled Emma, the younger blonde's hand still on the open car door.

The Snow Queen stood regally in her impractical but elegant gown with an empathetic look on her face.

"Stay away from me," Emma growled before a blast of magic shot out of her hands in the other woman's direction.

"You _are_ out of control, Emma, but you won't hurt me. Nor should you. I'm on your side," the Snow Queen explained.

"On my side? You _wanted _this to happen to me. You wanted me to lose control and it made me hurt someone I love."

"Your father? He's fine. Besides, I may have _wanted_ you to lose control, but I didn't _make _you. What you've done with your magic since you realized you were having problems with it are all on you. The only way to fix that, to keep it from happening again, is to accept it. Accept who you are."

"Not at the risk of my family," Emma firmly stated as she walked around the car to the driver's side and got behind the wheel.

She started the engine and Regina started to wake up. Emma glanced down at her before she stared out the window at the Snow Queen then put the Bug in Drive and headed home.

"Emma?" Regina's voice was groggy from sleep. "What's going on? Where are we going?"

Regina pulled the blanket tighter to herself and slowly sat up with a furrowed brow, concerned. She propped herself up with one hand on the seatback while it remained fully reclined and Regina looked from Emma to the road ahead and back again.

"Back to the apartment. You might want to get dressed," Emma answered with her eyes trained on the dirt road out of the woods.

"Wh—But I thought…" Regina trailed off as she looked over Emma's half-dressed form.

"I know we weren't planning on going back anytime soon, but Henry might be wondering where we are. I don't want him to worry."

Emma knew it was wrong to drag Regina away from the place she wanted to be, with Emma in the beat up old Bug without a single problem to worry about for the time being. It was nice. It was exactly what Emma wanted. It was how she'd lived for such a long time and even though they hadn't quite left Storybrooke, it was still running. They were running. Emma had run away from everything. She needed the space, but the next step was to flee entirely and she didn't want to start anything with Regina that would pull the brunette into the mess of her compromised emotional state. They had Henry to think about and if time with Regina was only a temporary solution to Emma's magical dilemma, she wanted to get away from those she wanted to protect most.

It took all of twenty minutes before Emma parked the Bug outside of the apartment building. Regina had taken the time during the drive back to do as Emma suggested and got dressed. With the car still running, Emma reached into the backseat and grabbed her pants. She squeezed into them and waited for Regina to get out of the car, but the brunette seemed to wait for her.

"Go check on Henry," Emma told her.

"No, I'm not leaving this car until you cut the engine and come in with me," Regina argued.

Emma sighed.

"Henry needs you."

"Henry needs _both _of us. What's gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?"

"I just…need space, Regina. Please. I just want a little time to drive around."

"What? Why? Emma—"

"Just _go_," Emma raised her voice and then magic sparked out of her.

The magic threw open the passenger door and pushed Regina out of the car in one swift move. Emma's eyes widened and she leaned over to check on Regina as the other woman very slowly picked herself up off the pavement. The blonde spotted a few scrapes on Regina's arms and the brunette grunted a little with the effort it took for her to sit up. When she lifted her head and locked eyes with Emma, the younger woman knew she had to leave.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed out with notable sincerity. "Regina, I'm so, so sorry."

Emma appeared on the verge of tears and she leaned over further to grab the inside of the passenger's door.

Regina shook her head, reached out to Emma and said, "No. Emma, wait!"

Emma shut the door and sped off. She burned rubber on the asphalt and her tires screeched before she escaped the upsetting situation she'd created. She looked back in the rearview mirror as her she drove farther and farther away from the apartment and she saw her mother run up the street then help Regina onto her feet. At least Regina would be taken care of while she was gone. Where she was going and for how long she wasn't sure, but she needed to stay away from her family. She needed to stay hidden, out of sight. She really didn't want to drive too far from Storybrooke, because she really didn't want to leave her family, but she had to get far enough away. She had to find a new hide out, one she hadn't happily shared with Regina only hours ago.

No, she couldn't hide. She was a danger to those she loved. She had to find a way to fix it. She had to deal with her magic somehow and the one person she wanted to go to for help had just been tossed out of a car because Emma couldn't control it, couldn't help herself when she really needed to get it together to everyone else's sake. She was a monster. She didn't want to be a monster. She wanted her family. And if there was one other person in town who could understand that aside from Regina, it was Gold. Rumpelstiltskin.

That's where she would go. Not for long, but for a solution.

* * *

><p>Gold wasn't at his shop. She should have known that to be the case because the sun hadn't even started to peek out over the horizon yet. As badly as she wanted to learn how to get rid of the thing that made her hurt David and Regina, she had no idea where the man lived. It was probably best anyway because she didn't know many people who would offer their services to the person responsible for disrupting their sleep.<p>

She'd parked out in the woods, not at all near where she'd been with Regina, and had decided to sleep a little more while she waited for the sun to come up. Gold might have wanted his sleep, but Emma knew she needed hers. She had only gotten a couple hours' worth after her steamy moments with a breathtaking brunette in a cramped space that gave Emma all kinds of kinks and knots to later work out. Since there was nothing else she could do but wait for Gold to open his shop, she thought sleeping in her car in the woods a little longer made the most sense.

But it had clearly been a mistake when her magic flared up again and she leaped out of the car similarly to how she had when she'd woken up the last time. The difference was, the sun was finally up and the Snow Queen was nowhere to be seen. Henry, however, was.

He'd walked up a short hill and appeared with an exclaimed, "Mom?"

No, he couldn't be there. He shouldn't have come. How had he found her?

"Henry, what are you doing here," she asked almost breathlessly while fear quickly started to build up to the surface within her.

"I've been out all night looking for you. Everyone has."

"I told them all to stay away. I can't control my powers right now," she quickly explained.

Henry nodded, but only moved closer to her.

"Don't worry," Emma said as she balled up her fists and kept them in front of her where she could see them. "I'm gonna find a way to fix this, but until I do…you gotta go."

"No! You always think pulling away from people will fix your problems."

Emma squeezed her eyes shut. Her son knew her well. She was doing the one thing she'd been trying so hard not to do since the day she'd agreed to stay in town for Henry's sake. Now her poor, sweet Henry was caught up in the middle of something she didn't know how to fix or why it had to happen now—or at all—and she had no clue as to how to get him to safety because she really didn't want to hurt him. She hadn't and didn't want to hurt anyone.

"Pulling away? It never fixes your problems. I can help you," he told her.

"Henry, just wait."

Emma unclenched her fists at the same time she opened her eyes then looked down to see sparkling red dots of magic mixed in with a faint, golden glow emanate from her palms. She tried to take a deep breath, which wavered under the pressure she put on herself.

Because Henry was moving closer. He was getting too close and she wasn't sure what would happen. She had a fairly good idea, but her magic was unpredictable. She could hurt him.

Or she could kill him.

Henry slowly reached out regardless of Emma's warnings and the moment his hand touched her wrist, the gold burst out from her hands and lit up the woods while her son was catapulted several feet backward.

"Henry!"

He hit the ground hard and rolled over a couple of times before his momentum stopped. He laid on his side in the dirt and leaves and rocks and he winced at something Emma couldn't see.

"Henry, are you okay," she asked as she ran full speed toward him, but made sure not to get too close.

He reached up and touched the back of his head then looked at his fingers as he said, "Yeah. I'm—I'm fine."

Emma's eyes widened immensely when she saw what Henry had seen.

"Is that blood," she asked as she looked from his wet, red-coated fingers to his brown eyes. Brown like Regina's. Regina, who had been thrown around in a way that almost mirrored how Henry had been just then.

"Oh, god. Henry what did I do?"

Emma pulled her fists up to her chest and kept her hands pointed at herself in case she decided to put on yet another magic show. At least then she'd only hurt herself.

"It's fine. I'm okay," Henry more confidently insisted as he stood up and attempted to move closer to her again.

"Henry, I'm so sorry," she breathily said as the fear inside of her grew.

She looked as scared as her mother had after she'd inadvertently hurt David the previous day. And yet, Henry still moved closer. She couldn't do this, she couldn't let him near her.

"Mom, please," Henry held out his other hand, the one that didn't have blood on it.

"Stay back!"

Emma accidentally opened her hands to ward him off in a gesture that was instinctive to her and magic sprang out of her hands for the third time that morning. Thankfully, it wasn't harmful. But it could have been. And that's when Henry ran.

Emma's chin wobbled and her lips quivered as she pulled her hands back toward her chest and watched her son run from her.

"_Do you even like yourself?"_

Regina's words from last night, before they'd even kissed, echoed in Emma's mind. The answer was no. It had been no for a long time, but it was something she could—and had—lived with since the day she first questioned if there was anything to like, then or ever, about her. But she couldn't live with it anymore. This was different. Magic was different. It was toxic and defective. Maybe it's why _she _was defective.

Emma hurried to her car and hastily drove back to the pawn shop. It was time to end this.

* * *

><p>Henry had finally returned to the apartment and when he had, Regina immediately noticed the blood that had started to dry on his neck and she went straight into panicked mother mode.<p>

"Oh, my god, Henry. What happened?!"

Regina fussed over him and felt around the back of his head for the injury. When she pulled her hand back, there was a small amount of blood on her fingers, but it wasn't as much as she'd feared. Still, it was cause for concern.

"I found Emma," he said.

"What," Snow asked from the kitchen before she quickly made her way over to Henry and Regina.

Regina and Snow spoke over each other just as Snow stopped beside Regina and in front of Henry.

"Where," Regina asked.

"Where is she," Snow asked.

"She's fine. Scared, but otherwise fine. She's out in the woods."

Snow looked from Henry to Regina and disappeared into the bathroom for a moment while Regina looked over Henry's injury and tried to get information out of him. Snow emerged with a first aid kid and handed it to Regina who kindly accepted it then ushered Henry up to Emma's room to take care of him. Snow's phone rang as the two of them headed upstairs and the other woman actually answered after the second ring, but Regina didn't hear the conversation, didn't know who had called Snow. She kept her attention on Henry.

Regina sat him down on the Emma's bed and started to clean the wound with what was provided in the kit. For a moment, she said nothing while he hissed in pain as she tended to his injury. After a short while, however, she needed to try to get some answers.

"Do you want to talk about what happened with Emma?"

He didn't. She asked him if his head hurt to which he answered, "A little" and then with a soothing swipe of her hand, magic healed him. She sat with him for a few minutes while he pulled out a comic book and when she guessed he thought she looked uncomfortable, he handed her one too.

She glanced over the pages without any focus set on the words or pictures and tried to get him to talk about what had happened in the woods. Finally, he opened up about the exchange between him and Emma and she explained that Emma was hero and if they knew anything it was that "heroes always win."

She leaned forward and the two of them gently bumped foreheads, a silent and peaceful mother/son moment that lasted a few beautiful seconds. Then Snow talked loud enough to be heard from the loft and it didn't sound like she was alone so Regina left her son to his comics to figure out the root of all the commotion downstairs.

In the kitchen, David and Snow had just finished a discussion, the subject of which Regina didn't know or care about, because—

"David, what are you doing here?"

He didn't seem to like that question and Regina realized how rude it came out so she tried to make it clear why she really asked that question.

"Well, shouldn't someone be out looking for Emma?"

"Oh, Snow just told me Emma called a little bit ago. She found a way to get to get rid of her magic," David smiled.

"Get _rid of it_?" Regina's voice was higher pitched than usual. "And you're _okay with that_?"

"We…" David slowly started to say with a frown and looked to Snow before he continued, "support our daughter."

"We're not talking about a pair of old Jimmy Choos here," Regina stated and looked between the two idiots. "Tell me you're joking."

"Wh— But…it's the only way to be sure Emma will never hurt anyone again," Snow explained and suddenly sounded hesitant and unsure of herself.

"This could be the _worst _idea you've ever had. And…you hired the Wicked Witch as your nanny," Regina furrowed her brow as she let her own comment sink in a little then shook her head to bring her back to the present.

"Well, we actually think it could be good for her," David butted back in. "She could be normal."

Regina sighed and approached the subject as delicately but as seriously as possible.

"You want to know what my biggest regret is?"

"The countless lives you destroyed," David asked.

Regina rolled her eyes.

"I didn't support Henry when I realized he was special," she answered.

Snow looked down at the ground and appeared at least a little ashamed of herself.

"You knew Henry was special, Snow. That's why you gave him that story book and started all of this. It opened up a _whole world_ for him. Well, _Emma _is special, too. You let Henry embrace the things that make _him_ special. Why not let Emma? Don't let her continue to think being different is bad or harmful."

Snow shook her head, looked to David, and said, "Regina's right."

David nodded and declared, "We have to find her."

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. David, Snow, and Regina looked at each other, confused, before David went to answer it.

Hook walked right in once the door was open and instantly looked around the apartment. Regina glared at him and tracked his every move with her eyes.

"Has Emma come back yet," he asked. "Has anyone caught up with her?"

David looked to the other women who then shared a look with each other before the three of them explained what Emma planned to do.

"What," Hook asked, visibly surprised and a little worried. "Did she say how she planned on getting rid of it?"

"What does it matter how," Regina asked. "She's planning on getting rid of it!"

"Right. Yes, I agree. That's terrible," Hook half-assed an attempt to cover up his real concern.

Regina narrowed her eyes at him and looked him over as he nervously shifted in place. He was fidgety and seemed to want to leave immediately because of something that revolved around the blonde.

"I wonder if she tried to call me," he said and felt around his hip and jacket but came up empty handed. "Well, it appears I must have left my talking phone in the truck."

"It's just called a phone," David corrected.

Hook started to say something in response, but Regina stopped him at the door.

"No! You're not going anywhere," she insisted. "You're going to tell me what you know. Right now!"

Hook told them about Rumpelstiltskin and how he planned on using a powerful sorcerer's hat to steal Emma's magic. The only way for the hat to absorb her magic would be to suck Emma into it and even though Hook had been willing to keep all of that information to himself, none of the people in the apartment wanted that to happen. Then Regina asked him how he knew about all of that and, though it hadn't surprised her that Hook had been hiding things from Emma, she fought incredibly hard not to use her magic against him in the most unpleasant, painful, and vindictive of ways.

Henry had become curious when all the yelling had started so he'd wandered downstairs just as Hook had started to explain Rumpelstiltskin's twisted plan. Regina had insisted he stay home with baby Neal so he wouldn't get hurt again, because they still had Emma's uncontrolled magic to deal with and with Rumpel as an additional threat it was the worst place he could be, but Henry argued that he wasn't going to sit back and wait for them to bring Emma home. He wanted to help. He told Emma in the woods that he could help and he was determined to do just that.

Regina finally submitted to his wishes and agreed that he could come along, but they still had to find her.

"We'll need something of Emma's," Regina said. "We can use a locator spell, but I'll have to get a potion for it from my vault."

And she did. As soon as David said they'd grab something from Emma's room, Regina vanished in her signature purple smoke and searched for the potion she needed.

After several minutes of rushed searching, Regina found the potion and was about to poof when things got complicated again.

"Regina?"

She froze, her entire body tense at the sound of the familiar voice. She turned and saw him and she was as shocked as she was displeased to see him there, disheveled and divested down a white tank top, white socks, and his pants from the previous day.

"Robin. Did you _sleep _here?"

"You left. I told you earlier I didn't know where else to go and then my heart kept leading me back here, to you. So I stayed. I waited."

Regina sighed.

"Can we talk," he asked with a scrunched up sad face, the same face he looked at her with at least ninety percent of the time.

He started to walk toward her, but she stepped back.

"I have something I need to do," she quickly replied and poofed away before he could get within arm's reach of her.

* * *

><p>Everyone except Hook, and Elsa who had yet to return from her search for Emma, followed Emma's red scarf as the wind—and a decent amount of magic—carried it to wherever the blonde had gone to meet Rumpelstiltskin. They were about a few miles past the town line beyond Storybrooke on a fairly chilly night that might have had something to do with the Snow Queen or could have just been fall weather. With all the blondes that wielded ice powers in town there was no way of telling which three possibilities—Elsa, the Snow Queen, or the changing seasons—could have caused the temperature drop at that point.<p>

Just as the road started to wind toward something other than more trees and insanely tall, unmaintained grass, Regina's phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the caller ID in case it was Emma. It wasn't. It was Robin. She ignored the call and slipped the phone back into her pocket.

Snow walked closer to her and her phone rang again.

"Who's calling," Snow asked.

Robin again.

Regina huffed and ignored the call. Before she could stick the device back in her pocket a second time, Snow had read the caller ID over her shoulder.

"You should answer," she suggested. "It might be important."

"What could be more important than finding your daughter," Regina barked and cut Snow a stern look.

How was it she was the only one willing to fight for Emma and what makes her unique?

"_But they don't always understand me. They don't know what it's like to feel rejected and misunderstood. Not the way I do. Not the way _you _do."_

And hadn't that been one of the reasons why they'd ended up connecting on a much higher level than they ever had before? Hadn't those words contributed to how Emma had stripped them both bare in so many ways while they enjoyed the more physical side of a relationship that still had yet to be defined?

Snow had thankfully discontinued her inquiry and less than helpful suggestions about Robin Hood and what Regina should do about him, though she still walked alongside her as they followed the floating red scarf. She had taken the hint. Robin sadly hadn't.

She ignored the third call from Robin by letting it ring while she thought about why Snow hadn't seemed to grasp what was truly best for Emma, but on the fourth attempt to reach her she had no better option than to answer.

"Robin, now's not a good time," she said in lieu of a polite greeting.

"But we need to talk, Regina."

"Yes. We do," she stiffly agreed.

Because it was true. They did need to talk, though she imagined they wanted to talk about two different things.

"But I'm in the middle of something and it can't wait."

She didn't wait for a response before she hung up. She turned her phone off before she put it back in her pocket for the last time before they would find Emma. Because they _would _find her.

Regina felt a pair of eyes on her and looked to her right to see Snow give her an almost knowing look. She pursed her lips for a moment before she relaxed then looked forward just as they approached a creepy mansion in the middle of nowhere with flickering lights and fizzling, highly temperamental magic spouting out from inside the mansion to the surrounding area outside of it. Snow's look and possible suspicions could wait just like Robin. Emma needed them.

Just maybe not at that moment. Because there was a burst of color, a rainbow, and everyone outside of the mansion felt a wave of pure and good magic pass through them. It felt like True Love, the same kind of magical blast that occurred when Emma and Regina on two separate occasions had kissed Henry and broken the current curses at those times that had afflicted the town.

The Charming family, even Regina, remained still for a moment afterward. The mansion's lights were steadily on and there was no more magic begging to be released. The group took a moment to collect and calm themselves, but they immediately sprinted to the mansion as soon as they determined everything was fine on their end. It was Emma they needed to check on.

"Emma!" They all shouted as they ran toward the front steps.

Just as they all stepped onto the porch, David's arm extended to yank open the door, Emma and Elsa opened it for him and joined the group outside. Both blondes were surprised to see all of them, but quickly replaced their surprise with bright smiles.

"Mom! Are you okay? How's your magic," Henry asked and pushed ahead of the others.

"I'm okay. My magic's under control," Emma said specifically to Henry then lifted her gaze and locked in on Regina.

Henry crashed into Emma and tightly wrapped his arms around her then gave a little squeeze. Emma closed her eyes for a moment and hugged him back.

Regina watched with soft eyes and a warm smile as Emma rested her cheek on the top of Henry's head. A second later, Regina reached out and stroked Henry's hair. Her hand skimmed over Emma's and the other woman opened her eyes. Emma lifted her head and stared at Regina and it felt like Emma saw her. Only her. They were surrounded by family, but Emma was so focused on Regina that the brunette knew even if she hadn't been the one to stop Emma, the younger woman still needed—still _wanted_—her. Blue-green eyes glittered with appreciation and a silent thank you as they remained fixated on her own compassionate gaze and all that mattered was that Emma was safe. Emma's magic was "under control", at least in a way that meant she could embrace Henry without throwing him across the woods. She still needed lessons, but they could work on that later.

Emma was safe. Emma could come home. And it was time Regina did, too.

* * *

><p>She wanted to go back to the apartment with all of them, but when she saw Emma outside the creepy mansion she knew that as long as Robin could wait she wanted to handle it sooner rather than later. It was time, had been for a while, and it had to be done before she could move forward.<p>

She didn't hesitate as she approached her family mausoleum. Her father's coffin was left open, it had been for days when she'd been busy looking for ways to save Marian, and so she walked down to her vault without a second thought. She wouldn't regret what she was about to do. It wasn't like the last time she'd been down there, with Robin. Everything would change. Everything had already changed.

"Regina," he looked hopeful and happy to see her and he took long and quick strides toward her.

The first thing he attempted to do was kiss her. She held up a hand and poofed when the gesture didn't deter him from coming closer. She reappeared behind him and he spun around to see her, a confused expression on his face.

"Wh—what's wrong? Why did you do that?"

"We can't do this," she answered. "This should have stopped before we kissed, but…that's not how things worked out."

"Regina—"

"You need to focus on saving your wife. It's the right thing to do for you…and for Roland, _especially _for Roland. Even if he hasn't had a chance to get to know her since she's been in Storybrooke, or…ever, don't you think he deserves that chance while it's still possible?"

Aside from the part about Roland, Regina had said of this earlier. She had made it clear that Robin needed to save his own wife. It seemed Robin needed to be a told at least one more time before he understood.

He looked at the ground with a frown and after a few seconds nodded his agreement.

"Whatever your reasons for being with me, you might the right choice to be with your wife," Regina added. "You know it and I know it and now that she's stuck between life and death, picking me was probably easier. It gave you an _excuse _to pick me. I want—no, I _need_—someone who can and will pick me first. Someone who's available."

When Robin looked up, he had tears in his eyes.

"What do I do about Marian? How can I help her? I can't do it alone. I don't know how."

"You can have access to my books. Anything you need, you can look over it. If you need help with some of the texts, you can ask for my help. But I will not be the only one putting in all the work to find a way to bring her back. Although, maybe…maybe if you explain some of what's going on with her to Roland and allow him to try… Maybe his kiss will save her. I kissed Henry and it broke a curse. Emma kissed Henry and it broke a curse."

"You really think that will work?"

"It's worth a shot," she replied with a shrug.

That time when she left her vault, Robin left as well. She pushed her father's coffin back over the stairway to the crypt that led right to her vault and poofed back to the stairs that led up to the Charmings' apartment. She moved to head up those stairs, but jumped back into the shadows on the first floor landing when she heard two familiar voices just outside the apartment door.

"I'm really happy that you're safe," Hook started to say.

Regina clenched her fists at her side and tensed her jaw. She should have broken up with Robin over the phone. Then she would have been at the apartment with Emma and she could have slammed the door in Hook's face when he decided it was okay for him to come over. Hopefully he'd figure out he wasn't a part of the Charming family and he'd finally stop harassing Emma.

* * *

><p>All she saw were comic books. When Emma walked into her room, an array of comic books littered her bed. She sighed and grabbed one before she plopped down on the foot of the bed next to an issue of X-Men then flipped through the one in her hands.<p>

"Sorry about the mess," Henry said from the top of the stairs.

Emma dropped the comic book, and her hands, into her lap and smiled at him.

"I'm not mad, Kid."

"Mom and I were reading them when you were still out there. Well, _I _was reading them. Mom was just staring and waiting to ask me about what happened with you."

Emma chuckled. "Sounds about right."

There was a moment of silence while they just looked across the room at each other. Then, after a few seconds, Emma flung the comic book aside and patted the spot on the bed next to her.

"Come sit with me."

Henry walked over to the bed and sat beside Emma, sat where Regina had sat on the bed earlier.

Emma wrapped an arm around shoulders and said, "I love you, Henry."

"I know."

Emma kissed his temple then pulled him into her side and rested her cheek on the top of his head like she had outside of the mansion earlier that night, like she had when she thanked Regina for saving them at the well when she and Snow had returned from the Enchanted Forest over a year ago.

"Emma," Snow called from downstairs.

Emma loosened her grip on Henry and looked like a puppy jumping to attention when the treats were brought out.

"Someone's here to see you," Snow informed her.

Emma looked at Henry who encouraged her with a look and a nod to go to whoever was there. Emma smiled at him and ruffled his hair as she stood then headed downstairs in the hope that Regina would be there waiting for her.

It wasn't Regina.

"Swan, there you are," Hook smiled at her, and for once it wasn't a smirk or a leer or anything sexual or sleazy in nature.

Unfortunately, Emma didn't return the genuine and non-lustful feelings. She couldn't.

"Killian," she greeted with an awkward smile displayed with pursed lips as she slowly stuffed her hands into her back pockets out of nervous habit. "Hey."

"I'm glad to see you. Glad you're here," he said.

Emma's smile didn't get any less awkward. But she realized after a few seconds, when Hook suddenly went quiet, that she wasn't the only awkward one in the apartment.

Hook started to squirm and he cleared his throat before he glanced up at David and Snow while they moved around the apartment.

"Um, do you…want to step outside? Maybe talk," Emma asked and motioned to the door with one of her hands.

"Yes," Hook wasted no time to reply and went over to the door.

He opened the door and motioned for Emma to lead the way. She stepped into the hallway and wrung her hands in front of herself in a way that was more like Regina than herself. With that realization, she shook out her hands and then hooked her thumbs in her front pockets as turned back to Hook.

"So…" Emma said with a little discomfort.

Hook shut the door behind himself then walked past her with a smile. It almost looked like he was headed for the stairs, but he turned at the last second while Emma turned her back to the apartment door just kept Hook in her sight. She guessed he had tried to assess her, check her out from front to back to front again without asking her to turn for him.

"I'm really happy that you're safe," he said. "You gave me a scare."

Emma chuckled, still a little uncomfortable and maybe just a little anxious to get through the conversation as quickly as possible. Regina would be back at any moment and she didn't want to be around Hook when that happened.

"Well, here I am. Safe. Fine. Still have my magic."

"You do," he asked, and he sounded surprised.

"Yeah."

"Then…I guess that gives us a reason to celebrate," he smiled again and it was less casual, less sincere, and more lustful.

Emma tried to hide her grimace, but she tensed. She had Regina. She wanted Regina. They hadn't talked about what they wanted from each other after their amazing, spectacular, greater-than-any-words-could-describe sex, but she'd kick Hook to the curb just to have that conversation. She didn't know where she and Regina were going, if they were going anywhere at all, but she definitely wanted to find out.

"Maybe you and I could enjoy a second date sometime?"

Emma tensed further and Hook must have seen her cringe that time because he quickly continued with a smile that would have passed as charming had he not been so aggressively insistent about having a relationship when all she'd done was make out with him a couple of times.

"Not tonight. I'm sure you'll want time with your boy," Hook added. "And some time to yourself. To relax. And you should. You deserve it."

"Hook," Emma tried to be gentle.

Hook immediately frowned.

"I don't think there's gonna be a second date. We're not…_connecting_."

Hook smirked and took a step closer.

"Not yet, but we could be," he responded and reached for her hips.

Emma grabbed his forearms, her face scrunched up with a hint of disgust caused by his overt suggestion, and gently pushed him away as she took a step back.

"That's not what I meant," she said. "Take today for example. I know how I feel about my magic, but how do you feel about it?"

"I can understand why you wanted to get rid of it," he answered.

Emma frowned.

"Do you wish I _had_?"

"Well, the last thing I'd ever want you to do is go to the Crocodile for _any _kind of help, but…maybe Regina can do something about it. I don't really trust her either, but she's better than Rumpelstiltskin. She'll probably find a way just to keep Henry safe if that's what you're worried about."

Emma sighed and said, "My magic might scare me sometimes, but it's a part of me. It's what makes me…special. Regina tried to tell me how to control it, about dealing with my emotions. She said she'd start my lessons again, but then the Dairy Queen told me there was nothing she could do to help me and I ran."

"Wait, when did Regina say all of this," Hook asked with a furrowed brow.

"It doesn't matter. The important thing is that I should've listened to Regina, and to the stupid Dairy Queen. But I guess the third time's the charm because when Elsa told me how she managed to control her magic here, without Anna to help her, I finally got it.

"I've seen my magic eclipse a moon to help save Henry, I've seen it destroy a trigger and save an entire town, I've seen it save me from a collapsing bridge. It's amazing and it's me. It's all _me_. Without it, I'm ordinary. I'm normal. I don't want to be normal. I want to be me."

"Then be yourself. I won't stop you," Hook tried again.

"But you will. I remember when I was having a little fun with my magic in the diner when it was just you and me there and Zelena was still a threat. You got upset and frustrated. I was fine. I was in control of it and learning how to make what I wanted to happen when I wanted it to happen."

"You used the magic on my hook. That's different."

"No, you weren't happy before I did that either. It's _why _I did it. I tried to get you to smile, but nothing I was doing worked."

"Because it was your _magic_," he argued. "It wasn't you talking to me. It wasn't us kissing. It was you fooling around with the kind of sorcery Regina does."

"But that's _me_. And that's my _point_. You can't accept it. You never have and you probably never will. Because the fact that you still want me to find another way to get rid of my magic while everyone else, including Regina—or…maybe _especially _Regina, went after me so they could _stop me _from doing that proves you're not okay with everything that I am.

"This—whatever it is you think you feel for me—I can't reciprocate. Everyone who came to find me, my family can accept that. They don't want me to change and I don't want to change. And…you shouldn't want me to either."

Hook sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand.

"If that's how you feel, Swan…"

Emma apologetically looked at him and said, "It is."

It took him a minute, but Hook nodded and slowly turned toward the stairs.

"Alright then. I suppose this is goodbye," he kept his head tilted down, but looked up at her with eyes that pleaded for a moment of reconsideration.

Emma didn't budge. She remained in front of the apartment door with her hands in her pockets and her apologetic look had lost some of its apology. She made it clear in the nicest way possible with her gaze that he needed to go and it was her choice. It was her choice and he couldn't take that from her. Ever.

Hook closed his eyes and nodded again as he went to take the first step down the stairs. When he opened his eyes and lifted his head to see where he was going, he and Emma both noticed the clack of heels on the stairs.

Emma watched Hook and Regina exchange a look as they passed each other. Hook looked at Regina with a bit of jealousy before he looked past the brunette back at her and his jealously turned into a knowing stare. Regina looked at Hook with a hint of a grin before she too looked to Emma, but the grin faded and she looked…satisfied? Emma couldn't be sure, but all that mattered was that Regina was back. Regina was in front of her and she had a second chance at a morning after with the other woman. It wasn't morning and they weren't naked, couldn't get naked while her parents and Henry and Elsa were in the apartment, but they could be together in other ways. They could talk about what last night meant and they could move forward.

"Hey," Emma said as Regina came to stand in front of her at the top of the stairs.

"Hey," Regina repeated and smiled at her.

Faintly, Emma heard the main door to the building close, but her eyes were zeroed in on Regina.

"Did you…talk with Robin," Emma asked after a moment.

"Yes," Regina asked, and her expression didn't give anything away about how that talk went. It made Emma nervous.

"And?"

"It's over. He and I… I ended it with him."

Emma exhaled with relief and her lips curled into a smile.

"If there's anything I can do to help save his wife," Regina continued, "even though I've looked over _everything _and have found _nothing_, I'll do what I can. But it's not—I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for Roland. And Marian. And…because it's the right thing to do."

Emma's smile spread into one like the smile in the vault after Regina said she didn't want to kill her. She slowly stepped toward Regina and she watched as Regina's eyes flickered over her from head to toe as she approached.

"Looks like it took me to rub _up_ on you for me to rub _off _on you," Emma teased and wrapped her arms around Regina's waist.

Regina rolled her eyes with a beaming smile and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck. They both pulled themselves flat against each other. Their fronts brushed against each other and Emma couldn't see herself, but she imagined she looked as smitten as Regina. Because that's exactly how she felt.

"Henry tells me you've also been in my bed," Emma said after a moment.

"Not in the way you might like," Regina quipped with a grin. "But I'm sure we can rectify that."

"Oh, I'm hoping we _will_," Emma smirked, and Regina bit her lip in a failed attempt to keep her grin from turning into a pleased smile.

"Shut up and kiss me," Regina said.

And Emma did.

They immediately melted into the kiss. Their lips and, not long after, their tongues slid perfectly against each other. They swayed a little as if to music only they could hear, still in the hallway without a care as to who might see them either from inside the apartment or out, and between the next couple of kisses—when they pulled back for air—they both smiled before they came together again.

They needed to talk, needed to figure out what they were doing and where it was going, but they had time. It wasn't urgent. Not when they could have a night off from all their other emotions and the toll the day had taken on them.

Tomorrow was another day and they were content to kiss a little longer before they joined the family for a nice night in. Snow Queen, destiny, story books and pixie dust be damned. This moment was theirs. This life was theirs. This choice—_every _choice—was theirs. And so they made one.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know it's a little plot driven and basically a rewrite of 4x08, but there's a third part of this story that will be all about Emma and Regina (and a little about Henry and the Charmings in relation to just what choice Emma and Regina make). I'm not sure when I'll be able to write it, but I'm planning to work on it this week and hopefully post by the weekend at the latest. Also, my update plans for my other SQ fics are as follows: Best Laid Plans, That Holiday Magic, Settling the Score. Again, not sure when, but BLP is almost finished and I'm happy to work on THM again and StS has barely been started, but eventually will written out and updated. **

**Leave a review and let me know what you thought about this! Also, let's assume Robin ran into Will at some point and found a phone to call Regina with. It really doesn't matter how he got the phone or even how he managed to call Regina. What really matters is that Hood and Hook are out of the picture! ;)**


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